We beat Barstow in Barstow, we beat Bishop in Bishop and lost to Trona
on our home field, go figure. We were a small team for sure, some of us played
the full game offense and defense. But, we did have talent. Roger Short was
nothing short (no pun intended) of brilliance in his ability to move the team,
hardly anyone could catch Joel Christe and everyone could catch Gary Koehler, he
just carried them with him until he couldn't move anymore and nobody could move
Don Wright. Clay Carroll didn't know the meaning of the word fear, but then
he didn't know the meaning of a lot of words, like most of us, but he did know
how to run, pass and catch, he was the real triple threat. And, of course, there
is Mr. O' Meara, what a great coach he was! He certainly changed
my attitude about how to play football. I remember his advice one hot and
sweaty practice when we were all just about ready to lay down and die, he said,
"work when you're tired, that will help you when you really need the extra
push" and I still think of those words when I get tired and just don't want
to go on, but somehow I find the energy I need.

Everybody will tell
you about all the wonderful memories and fun they had, if you were lucky enough
to be on a winning team and I know each team has it's own special place in the
history of Burroughs, but I am thankful and proud to have been a part of the
'55 tri-championship team.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior, typically reserved
for short-yardage situations, responded with 93 yards rushing and four touchdowns
in 16 carries Saturday at Fontana High to lead Kaiser to its second consecutive
Southern Section Division VIII football title with a 41-31 victory over
Ridgecrest Burroughs.

"I thought they were going to get me the ball
in desperate situations," said Afutiti, who had five touchdowns entering the
game. "But I guess Coach [Bruich] really believed in me."

Afutiti
gave the top-seeded Cats (13-1) a dependable alternative to tailback Rayvonne Gooden,
who gained 282 yards and scored two touchdowns in 42 carries. Kaiser rushed
for 375 yards and outgained the Burros, 381 yards to 320.

Afutiti
scored three touchdowns in the second half as Kaiser rallied from a 24-21 halftime
deficit. He rushed for touchdowns of eight and nine yards in the third quarter
to put the Cats ahead, 34-24.

The second-seeded Burros (12-2)
made it 34-31 late in the third quarter when quarterback Karsten Sween connected
with Will Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown. But Afutiti put the game out of reach
with a five-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Anthony
Celestine made a one-handed catch on a 70-yard scoring pass play, completed
a 63-yard pass for a touchdown on a fake punt and recovered an onside kick
for Burroughs.

Sween completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards and
three touchdowns. Celestine had 10 catches for 180 yards.

— Ben Bolch

CIF Referee Praises Sportsmanship of Burros

Editor’s note: The following is a letter addressed to Burroughs
High School Athletic Director, Don Crouse after the Burros’ 53-31 win in the CIF-SS
Division VIII semifinals against Serrano. It was written by one of
the game’s officiating crew.

Sir:
Saturday night I had the pleasure
of being the referee for your football game versus Serrano.
Mr. Crouse
was there to meet us and direct us to our dressing area, where the checks were
laid out with a snack and coupons for the snack bar, a touch we very seldom see.
Mr.
Crouse also corrected us that the school emblem was a burro, not a
donkey! (Nancy here: the new symbol for Burroughs looks like a donkey,
not the cute little burro of our time!)
The side line personnel and staff
were polite, friendly and very efficient.
Your spectators were friendly
as we went to the field. The crowd noise and cheering were just great.
All in all, it was like stepping back to the 50’s when I started officiating.
You,
of course, are used to this. However, it’s not what we see
week to week!
Congratulations to you and your school for keeping these very
outstanding standards.
It was well worth the six-hour round trip.

Rolf
Rahl
California Interscholastic Federation Referee

This year Burroughs fielded a championship grade team. They went to
the CIF finals where they were bested after a very competitive and hard fought
game. Congratulations to the Men of Burros who put out the effort to go so
far. You have made us all Proud.

Remote Possibilities

* Burroughs' success rekindles pride in isolated Ridgecrest

The
desolate area surrounding Ridgecrest, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles,
is dotted with natural wonders.

Spectacular rock formations and panoramic
vistas contribute to an otherworldly landscape that draws sightseers as
well as Hollywood filmmakers seeking the right backdrop for science-fiction projects.

"Out of this world" also describes the remarkable season of
the Ridgecrest Burroughs football team, which is playing in its first Southern
Section final in 29 years. The Burros (12-1) will meet defending champion Fontana
Kaiser (12-1) at 7 tonight for the Division VIII title at Fontana High.

For
the last few months, Burroughs games have been the main attraction
in this desert town of 25,000, rekindling a sense of school spirit and community
pride.

Tommy Mather, 58, said this may be the best Burroughs team
since he began regularly attending games — in 1957. All four of his sons played
football for the school, and one of them, Todd, is a member of the coaching
staff.

"These kids don't realize they're playing for us, for the whole
community," said Mather, owner of a local sports bar. "We're living through
them."

Students, parents and boosters will fill several buses for
today's three-hour drive to Fontana, eager to cheer for a team featuring a high-powered
passing attack and an opportunistic defense with a knack for causing
turnovers.

Burroughs, which was founded in 1944, has reached a section
title game only once before, losing to now-defunct Norwalk Neff, 59-21, in
the 1974 2-A Division final. Principal Ernie Bell, 44, remembers watching that
game as a sophomore, and he said a similar sense of excitement has energized Ridgecrest
this week.

"The same thing is happening right now," Bell said.
"Everything's abuzz. When you're a small town, that's the only thing going."

Portable bleachers were brought in last week to accommodate a crowd
of 5,000 for Burroughs' semifinal home game against Serrano.

After
the Burros' 53-31 victory, Bell was among five administrators and coaches who
had their heads shaved in the locker room, a tradition that started several
weeks ago at the outset of an eight-game winning streak. Bell agreed to be shorn
if the team reached the final.

"Sure enough, we had a little party
in the locker room Saturday night," he said. "It was fun."

Burroughs
quarterback Karsten Sween is also having the time of his life. Though he had
never started a varsity game before this season, Sween has set nearly all of
the school's season passing records, completing 219 of 364 passes (60.2%) for 3,438
yards and 37 touchdowns with only eight interceptions.

The left-handed
junior enjoyed his best game last week against Serrano, passing for school
records of 506 yards and six touchdowns.

"The kid's poise is remarkable,"
Burroughs Coach Jeff Steinberg said. "That's why his yardage is the
way it is, because he makes smart decisions."

Sween isn't the first
member of his family to excel in football. His uncle, Brant Tunget, played linebacker
on the 1974 Burroughs team that reached the final and was a tight end
at Fresno State.

Tunget has driven from his Sacramento home, an 800-mile
round trip, to attend all of Burroughs' playoff games.

"He's
a real inspiration for me," Sween said. "We were joking around that it just took
another player with Tunget blood to get [Burroughs] back to the championship
game."

Actually, Sween credits an offensive line that has allowed few
sacks and a talented group of receivers led by senior Anthony Celestine, who
has 89 catches for 1,868 yards and 23 touchdowns.

The Burros are averaging
420 yards a game with an offense that uses four or five receivers on nearly
every play. They also like to use a no-huddle scheme, with Sween calling
the plays, to keep defenses off balance.

But the offense's success
is largely because of a swarming, ball-hawking defense. Burroughs has caused 43
turnovers and committed only 13. Creating turnovers has given the offense good
field position.

"We're a lot more speed than size," said senior safety
Peter Ghilardi, explaining the defensive unit's strength. "Other teams always
think they're going to run over us, but we're quick and physical."

Ghilardi
had two interceptions, his first of the season, last week against
Serrano. He and senior linebacker Trevor Barney lead the team in tackles.

Most
of the players grew up in Ridgecrest and played together in the city's
youth football program, establishing an early camaraderie and trust that many
associate with Burroughs' success. "We don't have any real big, Division I kids," Principal Bell said. "We've got an
entire team that plays with heart. It's hard to find that kind of chemistry."

Burroughs has not lost since a 27-20 setback to Ventura St. Bonaventure
on Oct. 10 in a nonleague game at Moorpark College. St. Bonaventure, which
had a 13-0 record before losing to Westlake Village Westlake in the Division IV
final Friday, held on after intercepting a Sween pass in the end zone in the
final seconds.

In winning their last eight games, the Burros have averaged
46 points.

Despite the drawbacks of living in a small, isolated
town — traveling to away games usually entails bus rides of about three hours
— Steinberg said Ridgecrest's plusses outweigh the minuses. The primary industry
is the Naval Air Weapons Station that borders the town.

"Initially,
it was concern of mine because I was raised in a big city," said Steinberg,
who grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and has been at Burroughs six years. "Now
that I'm here, it's the best of both worlds. We're close enough that we can go
to the beach, go to the city.

"But [Ridgecrest] has that small-town
atmosphere where people know each other, they support what the kids are doing
and there's virtually no crime."

Sween also appreciates the simple
life. His family moved a few years ago from San Luis Obispo to Inyokern, a town
of 970 just outside of Ridgecrest that bills itself as the "Sunshine Capital of
America."

"I like it because there are fewer distractions," he said.
"I can be more focused on football." Sween's goal is to earn a scholarship to a Division I college. But tonight his focus
will be on helping Burroughs — and an entire town — make a little history.

Borrowed from the Bakersfield California web site..........

Burroughs wins Kern County's third section championship of the weekend

PALM SPRINGS — It took some faith, a little bit of resiliency and a whole lot of
Hayo for Burroughs High to win its first Southern Section title in football.

KW
Associates, Realtors KW Associates, Realtors KW Associates, Realtors
Hayo,
as in Rogelio, Carpenter caught six passes for 194 yards and four
touchdowns to lead the Burros to a 42-30 victory over Palm Springs in the Division
VIII title game Friday night at Palm Springs High.

Both teams were
vying for their first championship in football — Palm Springs had quarterback
Scott Saunders making big plays, but it was Carpenter who made the bigger ones.

The
victory gives Kern County three section football championships,
as the Burros join Bakersfield High (Central Section, Division I) and West High
(Central Section, Division II), which both won on Friday night.

The Burroughs High School football team won its first CIF-Southern Section championship
in the school’s 61-year history, as the Burros defeated the Palm Springs
Indians 42-30 Saturday night.

As the final gun sounded, Burro fans,
which numbered among the thousands, rushed onto the field as players and coaches
embraced. Head Coach Jeff Steinberg accepted the gold championship plaque from
the CIF officials on the field and held it aloft.

The Burros opened
the scoring on their opening series with a 39-yard field goal by Luis Tejeda
after an opening return by Hayo Carpenter to the Palm Springs 49-yard line.

After
a Palm Springs three-and-out series, Carpenter racked up another
long return, this one to the Indians’ 46, and the Burros capitalized on their
second play, as Anthony Williams blocked a Palm Springs defender and Carpenter
ran a completed pass from David LaFromboise 44 yards for a score. Despite a missed
extra point, the Burros held a 9-0 lead with 5:31 to go in the first quarter.

On
the final play of the first quarter, the locals caught a break.
On fourth down, Palm Springs kicker Chase Aaronson attempted a field goal, but
the snap was bad. Aaronson tried to throw, but Ron Marker intercepted for BHS
and returned the ball inside Indian territory.

LaFromboise completed
another Burroughs scoring drive with a 25-yard completion to Carpenter. This
time the point after was good and the Burros led 16-0.

Bryan Cloud put
Palm Springs on the scoreboard with a four-yard touchdown run at 6:04 of the
second period, and QB Scott Saunders scored a two-point conversion to cut the
lead to 16-8.

Tejeda struck back for Burroughs on the next series with
a 37-yard field goal to put BHS in front 19-8, but Quade Soffel hauled in a
six-yard pass from Saunders with just under a minute to play before halftime, and
with the two-point conversion BHS led only 19-16.

With a strong kickoff
return by Carpenter, Burroughs put itself into position to score again,
as Tejeda drilled a 27-yarder on the final play of the period to send the locals
into the locker room with a 22-16 lead.

In a defensively dominated
third quarter, both Burroughs and Palm Springs moved up and downfield on offensive
series but were unable to score.

As the fourth quarter began, Williams
put the Burros back in the driver’s seat with a rushing touchdown at the
10:44 mark to extend the BHS lead to 28-16.

Palm Springs’ offense
was unable to make a dent in the defense, which clamped down harder as the game
went on.

Carpenter hauled in another touchdown, a 25-yard strike from LaFromboise that seemed
to be a back-breaker, as Indians fans began to leave.

Saunders threw
another touchdown pass with 3:20 to go, and attempted to hold the Burros on
defense, but Carpenter capped the scoring with an 82-yard touchdown catch that
ended the drama and began the celebration.

Afterward, Burroughs players
and fans were at a loss for words.

“It feels great,” said Carpenter.
“It felt great coming out, all those morning workouts paid off at the end.”

“Words
can’t even say how it feels,” Williams said. “It’s the best
feeling of my life to this point.”

“We as parents are so proud of
this team and their fans,” said Lori Parker, co-president of the Football Parents’
Organization. “You couldn’t ask for better community support - Burroughs rocks
the house!”